The future is always coming and yet it never quite seems to get here. Once upon a time, we were promised jetpacks. Well, guess what? We’re still waiting. Likewise with those robot assistants that were meant to relieve 1950s housewives from the drudgery of cleaning....

In Hollywood, artificial intelligence is typically associated with dystopian futures in which the machines have become sentient and assumed control. I’m not saying that doomsday scenario is out of the question – I’m many things but I’m not a futurologist. Besides, I’m...